The future seemed bleak for

10-year-old Carolina. Her three

brothers were in prison. Her

mother, Theresa, was single-

handedly raising Carolina and her

younger sister on a below-poverty

income. What’s more, 46-year-old

Theresa, frustrated and angry,

often lashed out at her children.

It’s no wonder Carolina struggled academically and socially. Carolina needed help, and Creciendo Saludable wasthere to provide it.

Creciendo Saludable (translated: Growing Up Healthy) is a school-based research project conducted by WestEd’s Educa-tional and Community Initiatives in collaboration with Lowell Elementary School in Santa Ana, California. LowellElementary’s neighborhood is a two-mile island of poverty in one of the most affluent counties in the nation. It is the mostdensely populated area of the city, with the lowest rate of adult educational achievement. The neighborhood also has thecity’s highest crime rate, gang involvement, and number of homicides.

About 16,000 students attend school in crowded buildings filled to double their capacity. The transient rate at LowellElementary is well over 50 percent; 97 percent of the K-5 students are limited-English proficient; 85 percent live below thepoverty level; and the school ranks in the bottom 10 percent in statewide test scores.

The indicators of risk that make academic success difficult to achieve abound.

2 From the CEO

3 The FaCTs About Collaboration

4 Teens Take Action Against Tobacco Use

5 Support Systems for Homeless Students

5 Helping Children of Substance-Abusing Families

7 School-Community Teams Translate to Education Support for New Hampshire

7 Taking Positive Approaches to Help Children Succeed

8 WestEd to Co-Launch Child Maltreatment Prevention Research Center

9 Supporting 21st Century Community Learning Centers

9 Rudy Crew’s New WestEd Initiative

(continued on page 6)

Growing UpGrowing UpHEALTHY

Nine-year-old Franciscoand his grandmother,Maria, are just one ofmany families who havebenefited by participatingin Creciendo Saludableactivities.

photo: Gabriel Koneta

A L E R TA Q U A R T E R LY P U B L I C AT I O N O F We s t E d / S P R I N G 2 0 0 0

in an Island of POVERTY

Improving education through research, development, and service

i n s i d e

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2

W e s t E d . o r g

“It takes a whole village to raise a child” may soundlike a cliché, but it is accurate. No one segment of thecommunity alone is responsible for the welfare of ourchildren.

Never has the welfare of our nation’s children been sourgent. The number of children living in poverty hasincreased 42 percent since 1970. Today, one in fourAmerican kids lives in poverty. What’s more, the lifechances of many of these children, and their peers, areworsened by discrimination, neighborhood decay,violence, and/or parental substance abuse.

Ensuring the well-being of all children is a dauntingtask, yet one I believe can be accomplished. Responsi-bility starts at home, with loving and supportive

Welcome to the Spring issue of R&D Alert.

From the CEO:

A Community Effort

adults. Schools play an important role in ensuring thatall children achieve academic success. Also importantare the collaborative efforts among families, caregivers,and community and other public agencies. Each mustplay a part — together — if our children are tosucceed both inside and outside of the classroom.

At WestEd, we are committed to working with thisentire “village,” and our commitment is demonstratedthrough a variety of initiatives, some of which arefeatured in this newsletter.

Our feature article looks at a large, school-based studythat will help enable schools — working with families,caregivers, and community agencies — to build theresilient capacity of children to succeed in high-riskenvironments.

Other articles describe WestEd’s findings on what ittakes for schools, community agencies, and otherorganizations to work collaboratively; a sourcebookfor educators and social service providers to helphomeless students succeed in school and in life; and acommunity action research project that promotespositive youth development.

At WestEd, we strive to identify what’s best for everychild by creating a web of support — among educa-tors, federal and state agencies, families, and commu-nities — so that we can help all children buildresiliency skills to achieve academic success.

Glen HarveyChief Executive OfficerWestEd

Page

3

One Saturday afternoon, a young

single mother called the South

Orange County Family Resource

Center in Southern California for

help. She reported being at the end

of her rope, trying to raise three

children on her own and hold down

a job, while struggling to get

support from her former husband.

She was immediately connected to

the services of not one, but three

agencies that, together, offered her

the support she needed. The

hospital counselor who took the

woman’s call lined her up with an

eight-week in-home counseling

program offered by another agency.

She was then offered the opportu-

nity to bring her children to a

center for family activities run by a

third organization.

Success stories like this are what

those responsible for social services

in Orange County were hoping to

accomplish six years ago when they

asked local community-based

agencies to collaborate to better

serve clients.

to what they need — sometimes with

one simple phone call — and provides

a model for effective agency collabora-

tion.

WestEd’s Evaluation Research

Program evaluated the processes by

which the agencies collaborated (how

they shared client information and

created rules for dealing with one

another), as well as the collaboratives’

outcomes. The researchers’ observa-

tions and recommendations were key

to helping the partnering agencies

improve their services.

When the collaboratives were unable

to provide evaluation data, other

issues related to governance and

communication needed to be

resolved. A key to the success of the

FaCT model is the significant

technical assistance provided to the

100-plus agencies involved in the

seven collaboratives.

For more information about FaCT,contact Horowitz at 562/799-5122or e-mail, jhorowi@WestEd.org

FaCTsabout collaboration

T H E

“Through a combination of

evaluation findings, research-based

solutions, and a bit of trial and

error, everyone involved learned

what collaboration truly entailed,”

says WestEd Senior Project

Director Jordan Horowitz, who

headed up a WestEd evaluation of

the project.

As in other counties, human service

organizations in Orange County

often worked separate from one

another, providing clients with a

specific offering of services. Clients

in families at greatest risk, however,

rarely struggle with one problem

alone. To coordinate services from

multiple agencies in targeted

communities, Orange County

created FaCT (Families and

Communities Together). The result

is an approach that connects clients

A key to the success of the FaCT model is the significant

technical assistance provided to the 100-plus agencies involved

in the seven collaboratives.

Page

4

W e s t E d . o r g

Smoking is cool, macho, andquintessentially American,advertising has told us. But theseteenagers know better.

The youth activists behind TobaccoIndustry Gets Hammered by Teens(TIGHT) — a collaborativecommunity action research projectof the Contra Costa County HealthServices Department and WestEd— help counter moves by thetobacco industry to target youngerpopulations.

More than just fighting the tobaccoindustry, the project promotespositive youth development, saysNorm Constantine, Director of the

teens takeaction Against

TOBACCO USE

“TIGHT is youth-driven and youth-led, and we can take action.”

School and CommunityHealth Research Group ofWestEd’s Human Develop-ment Program. “Havingcaring relationships withadults, high expectations forsuccess, and opportunitiesfor meaningful participa-tion are the criticalcomponents of positiveyouth development, andthese are at the core ofTIGHT,” he adds.

The project was started in under-served communities of ContraCosta County, California, in 1997in the wake of studies showing thatwhile the number of adult smokershas decreased, smoking amongteenagers has risen.

Since the program’s creation, morethan 1,200 teenagers have partici-pated either as paid outreachworkers or volunteer youthadvocates. They conduct researchon youth-targeted tobaccomarketing in their own communi-ties. They then use these data todefine strategies in communityeducation and lobbying for the

adoption and enforcement oftobacco-free youth ordinances, aswell as tracking the effectiveness oftheir efforts.

The project has so far succeeded inhaving ordinances — aimed atreducing teenagers’ exposure tomarketing and access to tobaccoproducts — approved and enforcedin 11 of 20 municipalities in ContraCosta County.

As one youth outreach workerdeclares: “TIGHT is youth-drivenand youth-led, and we can takeaction. Kids can do somethingabout our community and ourproblem with tobacco.”

For more information, contactConstantine at 510/302-4215;e-mail, nconsta@WestEd.org;or visit WestEd.org/schrg/projects/TIGHT.shtml

Page

5

On any given night, more than onemillion children sleep in cars, tents,homeless shelters, hotels, and onthe street. Three fourths of themare school age. These children havefour times the rate of developmen-tal delay and three times the rate ofemotional and behavioral problemsas other children. They are twice aslikely to repeat a grade and oftendon’t attend school due to thechaos in their lives.

What can we do to help homelesschildren attend school and achieveonce there?

“Educators and social serviceproviders tell us they don’t knowwhere to begin,” says WestEdResearcher BethAnn Berliner.

“They want help organizinginformation into awarenesspresentations to their schoolcommunities, informing schoolsecretaries about easing enroll-ment, building content-richworkshops for teachers andprincipals, or even just puttingtogether information materials.”

In response, WestEd is developinga comprehensive sourcebook —the first one ever — that includesresearch-based information in theform of fact sheets, pamphlets,overheads, training activities, andeven ready-to-use sample presenta-tion and workshop agendas. Alsoincluded are detailed, concretestrategies that educators and socialservice providers can use to

promote better teaching andlearning for students experiencinghomelessness.

“We call this sourcebook Imaginethe Possibilities because we want tocommunicate that there are thingspeople can do to help homelessstudents succeed at school andlife,” Berliner concludes.

Imagine the Possibilities will beavailable this summer. Forinformation, contact Berliner at510/302-4209 or e-mail,bberlin@WestEd.org

support systems for

studentsHOMELESS

The walls of the principal’s office were becoming quite

familiar to its 9-year-old daily visitor. Darrin’s defiant behaviorwas troubling to many. The child of a substance-abusing

parent, Darrin is not alone. According to the Journal ofPublic Health [January 2000], one in four children under the

age of 18 lives in a home affected by substance abuse.

WestEd’s IRIS Project works with community agencies in

Riverside County, California, providing services that helpfamilies like Darrin’s overcome the effects of substance abuse.

The ultimate goal, according to Study Coordinator CeciliaMutia, is to prevent children from following their family’s

path of substance abuse.

Helping Childrenof substance-abusing families

Ten weeks after participating in IRIS Project activities, bothDarrin and his mother have demonstrated positive changes.

His mother now pays more attention to Darrin and his needs.Darrin, himself, has not been called into the principal’s office

in more than a month. What’s more, he recently broughthome a “most improved child at school” certificate.

For more information about the IRIS Project, contact Mutiaat 909/782-2836; e-mail, cmutia@WestEd.org; or visit

www.IRISproject.com

photo: Corbis Images

Page

6

W e s t E d . o r g

“I have a student, Jorge, who lost his dad to cancer in December. His

mother is not present either. He lives with his grandmother. He has

stopped turning in homework and is falling behind in his work.”

— Teacher referral to the Student Assistance Program

“Lowell Elementary is a mirror of thechallenges facing many schools today,”says Cynthia Peck, Creciendo Saludable’sProject Director. “How can teacherscount on children to focus academically?Often children in these environmentscome to school anxious, worried abouttheir parents, their home, their siblings,and their own safety.

environments. The Creciendo Saludabledesign incorporates four strategies:

Strengthen the school’s response to earlyacademic and behavioral problems byimplementing a Student AssistanceProgram (SAP). Modeled afterEmployee Assistance Programs in theadult workplace, the school’s SAPexpedites student and family access toappropriate interventions and services atthe school and in the community. Threehundred Lowell school children havebeen referred to the SAP by a parent,caregiver, teacher or friend, and assignedan outreach worker. A SAP plan hasbeen established and implemented foreach student.

Strengthen the family support for school

success. Families of students referred to

the SAP receive a visit from an outreach

worker inviting them to attend the

Strengthening Families Program.

Students, their siblings, and parents

attend 14 weeks of family training

sessions designed to improve communi-

cation and family management

practices. Over 85 percent of Creciendo

Saludable’s enrolled participants stay

involved throughout the 14 weeks. More

than 110 families attend the program

each year.

Strengthen the student’s capacity todevelop strong bonds to school, family,and positive role models by increasingthe student’s social competency and lifeskills. All students at Lowell take part ina life skills curriculum, and studentsreferred to the SAP receive life skillscoaching and counseling. Fourth- andfifth-grade students may participate inthe Peer Leadership Club to learn anduse their leadership skills.

Strengthen access to school services andcommunity resources through personaloutreach contacts and communitypartnerships. More than 15 agenciesprovide services to Lowell families.Outreach workers have made more than

4,000 contacts to ensure student andfamily access to and attendance at SAP-recommended services in the first year ofthe project.

These strategies have paid off well forCarolina and her mother, Theresa. Bothmother and daughter attended theStrengthening Families Program.Carolina met with a counselor andattended tutoring sessions. Heroutreach worker helped her obtain amentor from Youth Connect, acommunity prevention program for

Growing Up Healthy(continued from page 1)

(continued on page 8)

Francisco and his children,6-year-old Francisco, Jr.,and 10-year-oldConcepcion, attend weeklyStrengthening FamiliesProgram training sessions.“We learned how to improveour family discipline,” saysFrancisco, Sr. “We reallylike this program.”

photo: Gabriel Koneta

“It is a struggle to think clearly and learnEnglish as a new language,” Peckcontinues. “Caring and dedicatedteachers are being asked to respond tosocietal issues of poverty and familydysfunction that can divert their energiesfrom their academic mandates. Teachersand students need a process to address theissues that occur outside the classroomthat can hinder learning.”

Creciendo Saludable’s goal is to ensurethat every child is ready and able to learn,not in the traditional use of the phrase— when they first appear at thekindergarten door — but every school day.

To address the challenge that Carolinaand her teachers face, WestEd designed acomprehensive model to reduce risk andpromote resilience among studentsrepeatedly exposed to high-risk

Page

7

EDUCATION SUPPORTfor New Hampshire

SCHOOL-COMMUNITY TEAMStranslate to

For many years, researchers have studied whyyoung people get in trouble.

The researchers often then generated lists of “risk factors,”or reasons why children engage in problem behaviors —such as alcohol and other drug abuse, delinquency,violence, and risky sexual behavior. Intended to behelpful, says WestEd Senior Program Associate BonnieBenard, these lists often were not.

In fact, she has found such descriptions of risk have beenharmful. “They have led to stereotyping and labeling ofchildren from certain families and communities,” saysBenard, nationally known for her expertise in promotingthe healthy development of youth. “This work has toooften eroded educators’ confidence in the students’capacity to overcome the odds and succeed.”

of Outreach, Cheryl Williams. “We’re looking atstatewide school reform that adapts to what the school-community identifies as priorities.”

At the core of BSI are school-community teams designedby each site to determine the constituents’ own schoolimprovement agendas. BSI teams get a three-yearcommitment from a facilitator who helps clarify theteam’s goals and desired outcomes, as well as identifynumerous resources to help them in their work. Signs ofsuccess are emerging at the close of its first year. BSI hasseen major breakthroughs in the way teams approachtheir work. Team members focus on process, content,results, and impact by continuously clarifying their taskand involving those people best able to help.

For more information about BSI, contact Williams at781/481-1100 or e-mail, cwillia@WestEd.org

Benard has found that young people need to be regardednot as problems to be fixed but as assets to be nurtured,encouraged, and supported by caring relationships, highexpectation messages, and an abundant array of opportunities.

This kind of support system enables even childrenstruggling in abusive families and violent communities tohave healthy and successful lives.

Responding to this need, WestEd’s Human DevelopmentProgram created the Center for Resilience and YouthDevelopment. The center links schools, families, andcommunities, and enhances their capacity to implementeffective strategies to promote the healthy development ofthe youth.

For more information about the center, contact Benard at510/302-4208 or e-mail, bbenard@WestEd.org

TAKING POSITIVE APPRTAKING POSITIVE APPRTAKING POSITIVE APPRTAKING POSITIVE APPRTAKING POSITIVE APPROOOOOAAAAACHESCHESCHESCHESCHESTTTTTO HELP CHILDREN SUCCEEDO HELP CHILDREN SUCCEEDO HELP CHILDREN SUCCEEDO HELP CHILDREN SUCCEEDO HELP CHILDREN SUCCEED

It is said that out of crisis comes opportunity. Since1997, when New Hampshire’s State Supreme Courtfound that the state’s approach to funding publicschools through local taxeswas not equitable, officialsthere have struggled to agreeupon a new system.

While a number of states continueto use local property tax to pay for education, only NewHampshire has no state income or sales tax in place tosupplement local funding. For that reason, coming upwith a statewide plan to improve and pay for educationhas been a major challenge.

It was during a statewide education summit that an ideaemerged — an idea that has grown into a pioneeringmodel to improve the state’s public schools by capitaliz-ing on its value for local community involvement. Themodel is called the Best Schools Initiative (BSI). It iscoordinated by WestEd staff in the agency’s LearningInnovations office in Stoneham, Massachusetts.

“In so many places, schools come in and tell thecommunity what’s going to happen,” says BSI’s Director

Page

8children whose siblings are in the criminal justice system. AndCarolina’s mother has improved her communication skills.

“[The project] helped me to talk to my children and guide andsupport them, and not hit or yell at them,” says Theresa.

The challenge, according to Peck, is to set up the four CreciendoSaludable strategies in a manner that schools can adopt andinstitutionalize using their existing school and community resources.Peck hopes that the project’s early indicators of success will continueover the next three years and motivate other schools to adopt themodel. The planned production of a software program to imple-ment student assistance programs is expected to help schools adoptthe model.

“Most elementary schools can become overwhelmed by the needs ofstudents in communities with high levels of poverty,” says LowellElementary School Principal Eleanor Rodriguez. “Schools don’t havethe resources to meet those needs.

“Schools need a process to help students and their families access theneeded services without draining on the school’s academic mission,”adds Rodriguez. “One of the greatest impacts of CreciendoSaludable is that we’ve been able to address concerns that affect ourneediest at-risk students’ ability to learn. We do this by providing aresponse team that involves the family, school personnel, andcommunity agencies.”

For more information about Creciendo Saludable, contact Peck at714/648-0333; e-mail, cpeck@WestEd.org; or visitwww.healthy-ninos.com

Growing Up Healthy(continued from page 6)

Ana Morales,Strengthening

Families ProgramFacilitator, explainsan activity to Ariana

(left) and Gabriel,both 5 years old.

WestEd and the Children’s Bureau of

Southern California (CBSC) are collaborat-

ing to launch the Child Maltreatment

Prevention Research Center. The center

will examine community-based interven-

tions to prevent and treat child abuse,

neglect, and maltreatment.

Building community capacity to achieve

this purpose is a broad-based endeavor

touching on families’ needs for parenting

education and activities that enrich

children’s lives. WestEd’s Evaluation

Research Program will apply research-based

models to programs and services of CBSC,

as well as to promising programs of other

organizations.

“Our products will be effective, field-tested

programs and initiatives that can be

implemented in communities with similar

needs and characteristics,” says WestEd

Research Associate Karen Wade, who will

coordinate the center. Research findings

also will be disseminated in formats usable

to policymakers.

For more information, contact Wade at

562/598-7661 or e-mail,

kwade@WestEd.org

WestEd to Co-launch

ChildMaltreatmentPreventionRESEARCH CENTER

photo: Gabriel Koneta

W e s t E d . o r g

Page

9

2121st CENTURYSUPPORTINGCommunity Learning Centers

How can we extend learning for children after school? On week-ends? During the summer?

Finding good programs that do this job is a topic of increasing nationalinterest. At the federal level, the interest comes with generous funding.Since the inception of the21st Century CommunityLearning Centers Program,federal funding for school-based, out-of-school-timeprograms has grown from $40 million in 1998 to$450 million this year. Programs in rural and inner-citycommunities are eligible.

In an attempt to level the playing field for programs that may haveboundless passion for their work but little experience in the world offederal funding, WestEd and the other Regional Educational Laborato-ries have stepped in to help.

“Our job is to support all applicants and to be available to successfulapplicants for assistance and evaluation services,” says Len Beckum, whodirects WestEd’s Center for Educational Equity. “If a program sets out

Leading a new collaborative effort toinvigorate leaders in education, former NewYork City Schools Chancellor Rudy Crewhas joined WestEd and the University ofWashington to create an innovativeinitiative aimed at bringing the bestavailable leadership strategies to school- anddistrict-level administrators.

“There are teachers, principals, andsuperintendents who operate in completeisolation and don’t know what to do toimprove low-performing schools,” Crewsays. “We have the choice to respond with

quick-fix ‘silver bullets,’ or we can create a

new culture where principals from low-

performing schools begin a lengthy

conversation with principals at high-

performing schools.”

The K-12 Leadership Initiative is planning a kick-off convocation later this year.

Educators, scholars, and other professionals will be invited to address the role of

leaders in closing the achievement gap.

Crew is an innovator who led the New York City schools longer than any chancellorin two decades. He is a former superintendent of several Western school districts,including Sacramento, California. He will split his time between the campus of theUniversity of Washington and WestEd’s San Francisco office.

to improve reading skills, we want tohelp them do it. If their proposal saysthey will reach 250 kids and only 150are showing up, we want to help themfigure out why.

“Our goal is to bring attention to whatis effective, as well as identify what isless effective, then to get programsthinking about how to maximize theirefforts to benefit children.”

For more information, technicalassistance, or evaluation services,contact Beckum at 510/302-4207;e-mail, lbeckum@WestEd.org; or visitwww.ed.gov/21stcclc

RUDY CREW'Snew WestEd

INITIATIVE

Page

10

W e s t E d . o r g

We s t E d ’s

R e s o u r c e sSCHOOL-COMMUNITY

Fostering Resiliency in Kids: Protective Factors in the Family, School, and Community

Bonnie BenardFar West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development & the WesternRegional Center for Drug-Free Schools and Communities, 1991

Every teacher knows the special student who overcomes the hazards of a risk-filledenvironment — poverty, violence, drugs — to become a healthy, competent youngadult. This research synthesis discusses how such resiliency can be fostered in school bylooking beyond the deficits of a child’s life to capitalize on strengths.

Also available online at nwrac.org/pub/library/f

27 pages Price: $5 Order #: WC-91-01

Putting the Pieces Together:Comprehensive School-Linked Strategies for Children andFamilies

U.S. Department of Education & the Regional EducationalLaboratories Network Program, 1996

This guidebook for schools and community partnersaddresses how to develop comprehensive strategies to supportchildren and families. Topics include building collaborativepartnerships, conducting community assessments, finding/developing resources, evaluating school-linked strategies, andmaintaining momentum.

98 pages Price: $8 Order #: REL-96-01

Continuity in Early Childhood: A Framework for Home,School, and Community Linkages

Regional Educational Laboratories’ Early ChildhoodCollaboration Network, 1995

Strong home, school, and community connections enablefamilies to move from setting to setting with ease; aconsistent family focus is key. This practical documentidentifies eight elements for early childhood continuity andincludes indicators of effective practices used by communitypartnerships to link and improve services for young childrenand their families.

139 pages Price: $15 Order #: REL-95-03

Effective Instruction: Linking Schools and Communities

Producers: Doug Weinacht & Kathleen Tyner, 1996

Teaching and learning begins by building on the knowledge that children bringfrom their experiences outside the classroom. This video takes a look at the waythat three schools work with parents and communities to ensure that learninggrows from the culture, knowledge, and skills of students. By linking schools andcommunities, children can broaden their horizons from a foundation rooted inlocal culture.

20-minute VHS video Price: $15 Order #: VD-96-01

Creating New Visions for Schools:Activities for Educators, Parents,and Community Members

1994

This publication includes sevenactivities that foster reflection andfocused action. The activities helpstaff developers, teachers, schooladministrators, parents, andcommunity and business leadersform concrete images of a learning-centered school, align the visionand mission, and develop plans foraction. Used by thousands ofeducators, these activities arecatalysts for discussion and action.

36 pages Price: $10Order #: L-9413A

For ordering information, please

refer to the product order insert.

Page

11

O N L I N E

Lifelines to the Classroom: Designing Support for Beginning Teachers

Knowledge BriefKendyll Stansbury & Joy Zimmerman, 2000

This Knowledge Brief provides the rationale for giving new teachers explicit support,identifies the critical challenges for new teachers, and describes the components of both alow-intensity support effort and a high-intensity effort.

16 pages Price: $6 KN-00-01

Dr. Art’s Guide to Planet Earth: For Earthlings Ages 12 to 120

Art SussmanCo-Publishers: Chelsea Green Publishing Company & WestEd, 2000

This full-color, engaging book explains with three easy-to-understand principles how Earthworks and what we can do to protect it as global and local citizens. Also visitwww.planetguide.net

120 pages Price: $14.95 Order #: ERTH-00-01

Teachers Who Learn, Kids Who Achieve:A Look at Schools with Model Professional Development2000

What does it take to translate teacher professional development into impressive learninggains for students? A research study of eight schools that won the U.S. Department ofEducation’s National Award for Model Professional Development has been distilled into thisbrief and compelling story of successful school reform.

76 pages Price: $9.95 Order #: PD-00-01

What's new, hot, and useful

For ordering information, please refer to the product order insert.

For a free copy, call

415/565-3000 or toll-free,

(1-877) 4WestEd; or write:

WestEd / 730 Harrison StreetSan Francisco, CA 94107-1242.

For a complete online list

of WestEd products, visit

WestEd.org/wested/pubs/catalog

WestEd Resource Catalog – 2000

Chief Executive OfficerGlen Harvey

Director, Office of Policy& CommunicationsMax McConkey

R&D Alert EditorColleen Montoya

R&D Alert ContributorsGlen HarveyColleen MontoyaLynn MurphyNimfa RuedaKate Rix

WestEd is a research, development, and service agency working with education and other communities to promote excellence, achieve equity, and improve learning forchildren, youth, and adults. Drawing on the best knowledge from research and practice, we work with practitioners, policymakers, and others to address education’s mostcritical issues. A nonprofit agency, WestEd, whose work extends internationally, serves as one of the nation’s designated Regional Educational Laboratories originallycreated by Congress in 1966 serving the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah. With headquarters in San Francisco, WestEd has offices across the United States.

For more information about WestEd, visit our Web site at WestEd.org; call 415/565-3000 or toll-free, (1-877) 4WestEd; or write: WestEd / 730 Harrison Street /San Francisco, CA 94107-1242.

© WestEd 2000. All rights reserved.

This newsletter was produced in whole or in part with funds from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, under contract#RJ96006901. Its contents do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Education.

R&D Alert covers issues affecting schoolsin WestEd’s four-state region — Arizona,California, Nevada, and Utah — andnationwide.

Your letters are welcomed. Please sendcomments to Colleen Montoya, WestEd,4665 Lampson Avenue, Los Alamitos,CA 90720-5139; fax, 562/799-5138; ore-mail, cmontoy@WestEd.org

730 Harrison StreetSan FranciscoCalifornia 94107-1242

Address service requested

Non-Profit Org.U.S. PostageP A I D

Los Alamitos, CA90720

Permit No. 87

®

A new youth-drivenactivists group

that’s fighting thetobacco industry

(see page 4)

(see page 9)

Helping Homeless Youth(see page 5)

R E A D A B O U TR E A D A B O U TR E A D A B O U TR E A D A B O U TR E A D A B O U T

Rudy Crew’snew workwith WestEd

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Copy EditorsRosemary De La TorreColleen MontoyaLynn MurphyNimfa Rueda

Graphic DesignerChristian Holden

PhotographersCorbis ImagesGabriel Koneta